Living One, The

Description:
A young lad receives a disturbing letter from Baron Malcolm Spoor, who turns out to be his estranged and ill-reputed father. As it turns out, the Baron has returned from living in Bangkok with his faithful manservant, Pip, to retire in a palatial estate along the Massachusetts coast.

The letter alludes to the fact that the Baron will shortly be no more, and that even now he is losing his mind. The tale the letter tells leaves little doubt about that last fact in the boys mind. But, he has no choice. Torrance, the lad, is aware of his father's money and power and carefully hides his fears (and the letter) from his mother.

The house itself proves to be large and isolated, and not to Torrance's liking. Throw in a dozen large, red-eyed dogs, a doggedly faithful manservant and a secret locked room and Torrance becomes sure that this place is not for him. But as bad as his home life is, school makes up for it in the forms of a young psychologist masquerading as a teacher, and a potential boyfriend in his swim club.

Tensions build as Torrance discovers the house hides even more secrets and that his father's allusions to a family curse are all too real. Mystery upon mystery piles up as the boy tries to find out why every generation of his family dies at the hand of their own sons, and what would cause a gifted young psychic to loose consciousness in a hidden rose garden.

Qvamp says:

A very recommended book. The main character was gay and homosexuality is referenced throughout the book and is integral to the plot.

While I enjoyed the story a lot, it may not be for everyone. It is written as a series of journal entries by all of the main characters trying to piece together the whole story.

It is also a fairly convoluted plot and could easily leave some confused as to what's going on in the story.

Many reviews on line called this a vampire story. With that I would have to disagree. No vampires, but a fair amount of horror.

Rating

B+

Queer Vampire Rating

A

Amount of Gay Content

sex

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